Betting trends suggest Ireland will have to pull out all the stops to qualify for the Eurovision final.
Ireland's odds of ending the 27-year wait to win the Eurovision Song Contest are not very positive. Their odds before the semi-finals have been placed at 200/1, according to BoyleSports.
Wild Youth have promised a “big and bold” performance when the event heads to Liverpool next month, but Ireland has only qualified twice for the final since 2013. The Dublin four-piece will perform sixth in the first semi-final this year, but the betting trends suggest they will have to give it their all at 5/1 to be one of the 26 acts taking part in the final on Saturday May 13.
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Ireland has also been pushed out to 80/1 from 66/1 with BoyleSports to top the leaderboard if a final berth is secured, while Mae Muller is now out to 33/1 from 16/1 to end a similarly barren run for the UK. Sweden, who has Ireland’s all-time record of seven Eurovision victories in its sights, has been backed into odds-on favourite at 5/6, with former winner Loreen representing them.
BoyleSports spokesperson Lawrence Lyons said: “It’s just over a month to go until Eurovision but Ireland’s entry hasn’t struck a chord just yet and punters are clearly fearful the drought will continue.”
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